The Bet
by Ritsuka-chan1092
Summary: Takano and Ritsu places a bet. If Takano wins, Ritsu has to start dating Takano again, If Ritsu wins, he demands that Takano stop bothering him. Read more of summary in chapter...romance and hurt/comfort for later chapters.
1. The Bet

**Hey everyone! It's Ritsuka-chan~! XD Here with another story for you XD. This is from the anime Sekai ichi Hatsukoi (World's Greatest Love) This is the first fan fiction I have written for this particular anime, so I am hoping you all will enjoy it. I am really sorry that I haven't posted any updates lately, please just bear with me though. I am really trying to catch up, and I am so close to finishing my college up. So hang in with me. **

**Summary: Takano has challenged Ritsu to take charge of a brand new manga series that hasn't even hit the stores yet. Takano refuses to help him with this because he wants Ritsu to loose so they can date again. Ritsu has to edit and serialize and print and ship to stores in just ONE month to beat Takano's bet. In order to keep Ritsu from distractions, Takano goes to stay with Yokozawa for the month of the bet. Ritsu is upset about it but says nothing and uses his anger to fuel his motivation. As the deadline draws near, Ritsu comes to realize what is going on at Yokozawa's house. The Results are heartbreaking!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THIS ANIME SERIES!**

**Chapter 1: The Bet**

Ritsu sat down at his desk and sighed. He had just been through another all-nighter at his house editing another storyboard for the latest manga that his author put out. He laid his head on his desk to rest his eyes for a moment when the much annoying Takano pulled his chair out from under him, causing him to crash embarrassingly to the floor.

"Tsk, you are sleeping on the job, Onodera." Takano smirked and helped him up. "You know if you keep sleeping here all vulnerably, I am going to take advantage of such moments and explore your body." he said.

Ritsu blushed and was about to scold his boss for his words when Takano leaned down and kissed him deeply. Ritsu felt his knee's go weak. He snapped back to reality and gave Takano a shove. "Baka!" he said and walked out of the office and to the coffee machines.

Takano watched and chuckled and then sat down at his desk and was about to make a phone call to the printers when Yokozawa decided to come in on a rampage demanding the next storyboard that was supposed to be on it's way to the printer in two hours.

"Masamune! Where in the hell are those damn storyboards!" he roared.

Takano turned in his chair to face Yokozawa. "I told you last night I would have them in this evening." he said calmly and relaxed.

"Masamune! They are do this morning! Damn can't you ever get them done on time?" he groaned.

Takano shrugged. "I will handle it, just go away for now." he said and dialed the number to the printers.

Yokozawa was about to complain some more but Takano was already in conversation with the printers. He sighed and turned and stormed out of the room and bumped into Ritsu, causing Ritsu to spill hot coffee all over himself.

"Hot, Hot!" Ritsu hissed jumping around. He touched his chest and winced at the stinging feeling on his chest. He grumbled and headed to the bathroom to clean up his clothes. He looked in the mirror at his chest that was a light red color. He sighed and finished cleaning up the best he could and then left and went back to his desk and sat down. He looked around and relaxed, Takano wasn't here at the moment, it gave him some relaxation time.

Ritsu rested for a few more minutes and then picked up his desk phone and called the markets to see how sales were going. He talked with them on the phone for awhile and then got up and grabbed his bags and checked his personal cell phone for any messages he received during work. There was one, it was from his fiancee An.

Takano walked in then, causing Ritsu to grumble. '_He always walks in at a bad time…if he see's that An wants to meet up with me, he'll think to hard on it again.'_ he thought.

Ritsu cleared his throat. "I have some business to attend to." he said.

Takano then grabbed Ritsu's arm. "Are you going to meet up…with An?" he asked.

Ritsu blinked and furrowed his brows. "And how in the hell did you know?" he asked.

Takano shrugged. "You know you really shouldn't leave your personal cell phone laying on your desk, your practically showing them yourself." he said.

Ritsu growled and glared at Takano. "And you shouldn't invade someone else's privacy!" he scolded.

Takano chuckled and pulled Ritsu into his arms and kissed his forehead. "If you say so, but it was just begging me to go through it." he said.

Ritsu pushed Takano away for him. "Right, like hell it did." he said and stormed out of the room.

Takano came around the corner. "Onodera, wait I have something I want to talk with you about, and yes it's about work." he said.

Ritsu groaned and scowled and walked towards Takano. "Make it quick…I can't keep her in the cold for long." he said.

Takano shifted and leaned against the wall. "I have a challenge for you, unless you aren't man enough to take it on." he said smirking.

Ritsu's flame or rage flared throughout his body. "Like hell I'm not! What is the challenge?" he said with a spiteful glare.

Takano's smirk spread across his face even more. "In one month you must complete and send a brand new Manga series to stores, you cannot be helped by any of the office people here or people from the outside, you have to edit it, send it to the printers, AND you have to get it serialized and shipped out to our sales department." he said.

Ritsu, without even thinking of the responsibility in the challenge, said yes. "Alright you are on! If I win then you have to stop your harassment!" he said.

Takano grinned more. "You are heading down a long path…and if I…WIN…then you have to date me again." he said grinning.

Ritsu blushed slightly and once again without really hearing what he said, agreed to it.

Takano and Ritsu shook on the deal and then Ritsu headed out to meet up with An.

Only then did Ritsu realize what just happened. He slapped his forehead and groaned. _'What in the hell did I get myself into!' _he thought.


	2. Irritated

**Hey everyone, sorry for the late update, I am sick. ' =_= Well anyway I am here with another chapter of The Bet! XD I am getting some feedback but I could use a lot more!**

**Disclaimer! I do not own Seikaichi Hatsukoi! ( I wish I did :D)**

**Chapter 2- I will not give in!**

Ritsu sighed as just woke up from being up all night. He grumbled as he rolled off the couch and stood up and went and fixed himself a hot cup of yesterday's coffee. He glanced over at the clock and grumbled even more. He had to be back at the office in under an hour's time.

He sat down the coffee and went to his room, which he rarely did anymore and pulled out a fresh suit and a clean pair of socks and boxers. He walked into the bathroom and got in the hot shower and bathed thoroughly and then got out and dried off. He brushed his teeth and put his clothes on.

After a moment of glancing at the clock he grabbed what his work that he had managed to complete last night and walked out. Outside on his door was a note warning him about his rent due date coming up in the next few days. He shoved the paper in his pocket and sulked as he walked to work.

'_I really need to get a car…' _he thought and sighed as he walked in the office building and hitched an elevator and headed up to face another horrible day at work under the constant harassment of his boss.

As if Ritsu's days couldn't get worse, he managed to stop at the floor below his and pick up the person who denies his existence to the ends of the earth. Ritsu just cast his eyes elsewhere as Yokozawa stepped on.

"It's impolite not to address your superiors." Yokozawa said glaring down at Ritsu.

Ritsu mumbled and decided to make things a little easier today and complied. "Good morning Yokozawa-san." he said. Once the elevator came to a stop Ritsu went to get out but was pulled back in.

"I want to talk to you about something." Yokozawa said frowning.

Ritsu wished that he'd forgot to set the alarm clock for him to get up rather than him have to be involved in a conversation that would just end up him being in a depressed mood afterwards. He'd rather deal with Takano's scolding than to be fussed at for being near Takano.

Yokozawa cleared his throat and turned and faced the door. "I heard about the bet between you and Masamune…Masamune has come to spend the month with me until it is over." he said unable to hide his grin.

Ritsu's heart throbbed. '_Eh? He…did what?'_ he thought in his head. Ritsu said nothing and just stared at the floor. _'Well it isn't like I can just tell him not to…It's not like we are going out or anything…we're both adults here…so we can do what we want…he can stay where he wants….if so…why is my heart feeling this sadness? Agh! Whatever! Takano-san can do what the hell he likes! I am not going to lose this bet!'_ he thought.

Yokozawa grinned, satisfied that he had caused some disturbance in Ritsu's mind. He got off at his stop and held the door open. "Oh, by the way…I will be taking Masamune back." he said and left the wide eyed Ritsu in the elevator and let the doors close.

Ritsu stared blankly at the door. He then shook his head as a small irritated blush spread across his cheeks. "He is allowed to do what he likes." he whispered and walked out only to bump into someone. Ritsu groaned as he rubbed his nose. "Watch where you are go-" he was about to say but looked up. His heart throbbed as he looked up into Takano's eyes.

"Onaderu? What took you so long to get here? I was about to go and pick you up from your house." Takano said crossing his arms.

Ritsu looked at him and then looked away and grumbled as he walked past this person who was his boss. "Whatever, it's not like I am late." he grumbled.

Takano clicked his tongue and raised an eyebrow and walked with Ritsu. "Feeling pressured already? You could always give up and become mind again." he said.

Ritsu turned and stared at him in irritation. "I will pass." he said and sat down and took off his coat and scarf.

Takano chuckled and went and sat at his desk. He looked at the clock and then got ready to go to a meeting.

Ritsu glanced at Takano and then back to his work. _'He's allowed to do what he wants…'_he thought in his head. He then ran a hand through his hair and stood up and walked out to the vending machines to get a coffee. He slipped in some yen and pushed the button and picked the coffee up when it came out. He shook it and then opened it and sat down on the bench and sipped it. He looked at the clock. '_Damn…got to meet up with the serial company.' _he thought. He finished off his coffee and grabbed the new manga rough draft and headed down to the third floor.

Takano watched as he left. _'I already won.' _he thought and chuckled and then headed up to his meeting.

**Alright that is it for this chapter. Please Read AND REIVEW! I really like reviews. I so far have about 16 for this fic. Please give me more XD I love them~! It gives me courage to move on in the story XD. Well coming next in chapter 3, Ritsu is called back to his family's residence to escort his 'fiancée' on vacation. Well it just so happens they have to share a room, but what happens when Takano is sit there on a business trip with Yokozawa?~ REVIEW TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER XD **


	3. Misfortune

**Hello~ I am back with the next chapter to THE BET~! I hope you enjoy it ^w^ I got some very loving reviews for chapter two~! The more the merrier! Well I will shush now so you can read~~! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW~! And my closings to get a sneak peak of what is going to happen in the next chapter!~ :3**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SEIKAICHI HATSUKOI!**

**Chapter 3- The Trip of Misfortune **

Takano walked out of the meeting room late in the evening and looked at the clock and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Damn those people…keeping me so late." he growled and walked down the hall back to his desk on the fourth floor. He grabbed a coffee on the way and sighed as he popped the lid open and walked inside and stopped at the door. He smiled a warm smile and propped himself up on the door and looked at the adorable Ritsu, sleeping way on his notes.

Takano chuckled and walked over to him and sat down beside him and watched him for a few moments and then lifted Ritsu's chin softly and placed a kiss on his lips and left the room.

Ritsu stirred a few moments after he left and sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Ah…I fell asleep again." he muttered. He then looked around and sighed. "At least that pest Takano-san didn't see me this time." he said and hoisted himself out of his chair and was about to leave the room when his cell phone began to ring.

He curiously walked over to his bag and picked it up and blinked at the caller Id. It was his father. He flipped it open, "Hello?" he said into the phone.

'_Ritsu, this is your father. I need you to report to the main house at 7 o'clock. Don't be late!'_ his father said and hung up.

Ritsu looked at the clock and his brow furrowed. It was now 6:30. "Damn old man…he always does things at his pace." he grumbled and quickly gather his belongings and rushed out the door.

"Hey Onaderu! Where are you going? Work isn't over until seven-thirty!" Takano said following him.

Ritsu kept walking. "My father wants to speak with me." he said and got on the elevator and went down.

Takano ran his hand through his hair and then went back to talking with the chief printer.

Ritsu glanced at his watch and then began to think. _' If I take the subway…I should arrive at Tokogawa station in approximately…15 minutes…running will take me about 10 minutes to get to the main house.' _he thought. He sighed and then started to jog. He managed to catch the last train. He huffed as he stood there.

'_I wonder what father wants…does he want me to come back to his company?' _he thought. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he got it out and flipped it open.

_**From: Boss**_

_**To: Ritsu**_

_Where did you go? Meet me at the Station in thirty minutes!_

Ritsu mumbled and sighed as he sent one back.

_**From: Ritsu**_

_**To: Boss**_

_No! I have a lot of work to do when I get home. I am meeting up with my father…bye don't text me no more tonight!_

Ritsu turned his phone off and closed it and put it in his bag. "He thinks he has to hold my damn hand to go somewhere." he hissed. He sighed as he got off at the station and then broke out into a run. When he made it to the main house it was five minutes till. He cleared his throat and fixed his hair and clothes and walked inside the gate.

He looked near the entrance. _'Isn't that An-chan's car?'_ he thought. He shrugged and walked up the stairs and inside. He could hear a young familiar voice giggling and talking with his father.

"I'm here." he said and walked into the room.

"Ah Rit-chan!" An said and walked over to Ritsu and blushed and fumbled with her hands. "I thought you'd never get here!" she giggled and looked up at him.

Ritsu smiled down at her. "Sorry, I rushed as fast as I could…but what are you doing here An?" he asked.

An shrugged. "I don't know, your father said he wanted to speak to us." she said blushing and looking at Ritsu's father.

Ritsu's father walked over to them. "Ritsu, An-chan. I have decided it is time to deepen your relationship and take it to the next level. Ritsu, you an An-chan are going on a romantic getaway at a spa and bath over in Osaka." he said.

Ritsu's mouth gaped and he dropped his back. "Hah! B-but father I have a lot of work to do!" he said.

Ritsu's father looked at him. "So? Do it when you get back. It will only be for a week." he said.

Ritsu shook his head. _'This is his plan to get us married faster…I knew this day would come, but not this soon!'_ he thought.

An blushed up to her hair line. "O-oh my." she said and twiddled her fingers.

"Ritsu you will depart early tomorrow morning." he said. "That is all, I will not argue over this matter." he said.

Ritsu face palmed himself in the forehead and groaned. He then sighed and looked at An. "U-um…so I will see you tomorrow morning." he said.

An blushed and nodded and turned and walked off.

Ritsu sighed and turned and headed for the train station. He looked at his watch again. "The last train is leaving in about twenty minutes." he said and sighed again and walked down the street.

'_What will Takano think? What will he say? What will he do? Wait! Why in the hell do I care?'_ he thought. He shook his head and got on the train at the train station and sighed as it took off.

He stood there in thought. He wondered what was all going to happen. He decided it was best to just leave a letter on Takano's door about his absences for work for the week he'll be gone. He sighed and got off the train about a half hour later and walked home.

He had stopped and got himself a T.V Dinner on the way home. "I need to eat healthier…and start sleeping in a bed." he mumbled as he shoved the key inside the lock and opened the door. He walked into his house and shut the door and kicked off his shoes and walked inside. He looked around his clean house. "At least I managed to straighten up a little yesterday." he said.

He took off his jacket and put his dinner in the microwave and heated it up. He then went to his room and pulled off his work suit and put on a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

After his food cut off he got it out of the microwave and sat it on the table and went over to his bag and pulled out his work and began to work while eating. "Like hell am I going to lose to him." he said.

Meanwhile Takano was on his way to Ritsu's door when he noticed it wasn't shut all the way. "So like him…very careless." he chuckled and walked in and shut the door quietly. He tiptoed down the hallway and peeked inside the living room door. He saw Ritsu sitting at his dinning room table, alone and well…concentrated. He smirked. "Now if I leave him alone I could lose…" he whispered.

Takano laughed inwardly at his devious idea. He burst into the room causing a good scare to Ritsu.

Ritsu almost jumped through the ceiling. "T-T-T-Takano-san!" he bellowed. "Don't you know that it is against the law to come inside someone's house without asking!" he yelled.

Takano laughed. "Hey you were the one who practically invited every criminal inside your house by leaving the door open, blame your own lack of attention." he said.

Ritsu scowled at him and finished his last bite of food and washed the dishes. "What do you want this late?" he grumbled.

Takano smiled and went over to Ritsu and sat down on the counter. "Why were you called to the main house?" he asked.

Ritsu paused which gave Takano the impression that something important happened.

Ritsu looked at him. "It is none of your concern…oh and since we're on the topic, I am taking a leave at work for one week, father's orders. I am not saying anything more about the matter." he said.

Takano's brows furrowed and then he grinned. "So that means you won't be able to work on our little bet while you are gone." he said.

Ritsu glared at him. "I am going to win." he said.

Takano sighed and smiled. "Well anyway, I am leaving for a week to, I have business in Osaka at the spa and bath house there." he said.

Ritsu's heart thudded. His eyes bored into Takano's. "What…did you just say?" he said.

Takano looked at Ritsu and judging by his reaction, they were going to the same place. "Ah, I see…so you are going there to?" he said smirking.

Ritsu looked down. "And so what if I am." he mumbled.

Takano looked at Ritsu. "Why are you going there?" he asked.

Ritsu stopped washing dishes and hid his eyes behind his bangs. "My father wants me an An to get closer…so we are going there on a 'romantic getaway' supposedly." he said.

Takano's smile dropped and he got down off the counter. "I see. See ya around." he said and walked out.

Ritsu's heart throbbed. He felt like he should turn around and follow him and tell Takano how much he didn't really want to go…but he didn't want to lose to him either, so instead he stayed silent and sat down and got back to work.

When he finished up it was around twelve in the morning. He sighed and then went to bed, in his bed for once. He sighed and covered up and relaxed as he let sleep take him…..

The next morning he was awakened by loud knocking that was from his father's workers. He grumbled and sat up.

"The hellish week begins." he muttered.

**Well that is it~ This is the longest chapter in this story~! Well next time, Ritsu and Takano meet up on the train. An, being nice, asked Takano and Yokozawa to sit with them. Will sparks fly? Find out next time XD PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! XD THANKS~!**


	4. Train Ride of Tension

**Hello again everyone~! It is me Ritsuka-chan~! XD I know you must despise me for not posting the 4**Ritsu sighed as he threw on his clothes and packed his bags. He glared at the clock. He really didn't want to go on this trip. He knew that Takano would be at the same bathhouse as him and An, and he knew that wouldn't go well all in itself. He grumbled as he walked out the door. He locked it up for the week and walked away from his door, pausing a moment at his annoying neighbor's door.

'_He must have left already…hopefully he won't be on the same train as me An…knowing my luck, he will be.'_ he thought sighing. He continued to walk down the stairs of the apartment complex and walked to the train station. He was greeted by An when he got there. He waved at her and approached her wishing that he didn't have to do this. He didn't like An the way he and his parents thought and wanted.

An smiled at him and blushed and took his hand, causing Ritsu to flinch slightly, but he grumbled and held it. She smiled and pulled him along softly to the entrance of the train.

Meanwhile Yokozawa and Takano had just arrived at the train station. Yokozawa yawned and looked around as Takano bought their tickets. He rubbed his eyes and groaned and opened his eyes and paused. He wiped his eyes again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It was him. It was that man. Onoderu Ritsu, the very man he despised. He looked at the woman standing beside him, holding his hand. He smirked and laughed.

Takano then walked over to Yokozawa and he looked to where he was and his eyes widened. He saw the two standing there, they were laughing at the moment and holding hands…they looked like a real couple. This made Takano look away. He cleared his throat and looked at Yokozawa. "Let's get on now." he said and walked toward another entrance besides where An and Ritsu was.

'_That Onoderu…I thought you said you didn't like anyone…'_ he thought as he climbed on the passenger car. He sighed and looked around the car, all the seats were full or either reserved. He motioned for Yokozawa to follow him to the car ahead of them. He stopped in his tracks when he walked through the door. Ritsu was placing his and An's belongings on the rails above their seat. He watched as Ritsu sat down beside An.

An smiled and held Ritsu's hand and leaned over and blushed as she kissed him quickly on the lips. Ritsu froze and turned his head away from her and looked out the window, clearly upset, but he didn't allow An to see that. He then opened up his bags and put up the train table in front of him and began working on his and Takano's bet.

'_No way in hell am I going to let him win.'_ he thought. He worked hard and glanced over at An who was staring at someone. He followed her eyes and his heart dropped to his stomach. He saw Yokozawa coming through the car door, followed by a Takano. He slumped in his seat and tried to hide, but An recognized them and waved them over.

"You guys can sit with us." she said. Ritsu mentally face palmed himself and sat up in his seat and just looked out the window.

Yokozawa pulled Takano to the seat and sat down. "Thank you, Miss." he said and glanced at Takano who was eyeing Ritsu with longing. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat and elbowed Takano to get his attention. "So, I hear you are engaged to Onoderu here." he said.

Ritsu got up. "E-excuse me…restroom." he said and walked down the aisle to the restroom.

An smiled at them after watching Ritsu leave. "Actually…me and Rit-chan's parents are the only ones who consider myself his fiancé." she said sighing.

Takano looked at her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

An blinked. "Rit-chan and me are to be married on a contract. You know, an arranged marriage." she said.

Takano blinked and sat back in his seat and looked out the window. "Ah." he mumbled.

Ritsu was in the bathroom splashing water on his face. "Come on Ritsu, pull yourself together!" he said. He looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He gathered as much strength as he could and walked back to his seat and sat down.

Yokozawa and An were having mutual conversation about the editing business. He glanced at Ritsu and then went back to talking with An.

Takano then looked at Ritsu and smirked. "How is our bet coming along?" he asked with a grin.

Ritsu cursed inwardly and looked at Takano with a determined look. "Just fine! I have brought it with me. I told you I am not going to lose." he said crossing his arms.

Takano smiled. "You could just give up now." he said. "It would make it easier for you." he said.

Ritsu stuck his tongue out and glanced out the window. "Like that would ever happen." he said.

Takano smiled. "We'll see about that." he said and also began talking with An and Yokozawa.

Ritsu slumped into his seat and sighed heavily. '_ Why me?~' _he thought.

**Well that is the end for chapter 4~ Sorry it is a short chapter XD Stay tuned into the next chapter, An and Ritsu will be sharing a room OoO. Will An just sit quietly or will she decide to attack! What happens when Takano and Yokozawa are in the same situation, will he also succeed in attacking Takano? Find out in the next chapters! XD PLEASE REVIEW!**

**And I want to say thanks to my beta~!**


	5. Rooms 707 & 708

**Ritsuka-chan again~! I am here with another belated chapter of The Bet~! Are you enjoying it so far? Apparently not, because I have barely gotten reviews for this one...T^T This makes Ritsuka-chan upset T_T Pwease Review~! I seriously hope to hear more feedback or I will stop this fic and remove it due to lack of interest. So please don't make me do that T^T I worked hard on this story! :D So please review and enjoy! Your opinons matter to me!**

**I would also like to say thanks to my beta ****KeepGuessing**! **She did a splending job on chapter 4. **

**NOTE: THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN EDITED YET! I WILL RE-POST THE EDITED CHAPTER WHEN IT IS DONE~! SORRY FOR THE DELAY!**

**Chapter 5- Rooms 707 and 708**

Ritsu had fallen asleep halfway through the train ride. He faintly remembered hearing the other three talking about the editing buisness, but that was about all he could remember.

The train was pulling up to it's station and Takano reached over and nudged Ritsu, which was interefered by a soft push on Takano's hand. An took over and shook Ritsu and looked at Takano with a sort of defensive look.

Ritsu stirred and yawned and looked out the window to see them inside the train station.

"Oh, sorry I fell asleep." he said apologizing.

"It's fine, you looked tired." Takano replied grinning and looking at the papers in Ritsu's lap. The papers was what Ritsu had already got acomplished during the time the bet was established.

Ritsu frowned and stood up. "I wasn't apologizing to you, I was talking to An." he said.

An blushed and stood up as well and stepped into the aisle and let Ritsu grab the bags.

Ritsu got the bags down and bowed to Takano and Yokozawa and turned to An. "Let's get going." he said with slight irritation in his voice.

An nodded and blushed and talked with Ritsu as they waited to get off the train from the line.

"Hey, Rit-chan. Doesn't this seem like we are going on a honeymoon?" she giggled.

Ritsu paused for a moment and sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." he said, keeping in mind that his parents warned him about keeping her happy. If he had disagreed, An would have probably gotten upset and went and rat on him to his parents. She didn't seem like that type of girl, but you can never tell.

Takano had overheard the giggling woman's comment and it made him angry inside. He didn't want anyone to touch what was his, well what he wanted. He just wanted to yank Ritsu away from her and lock him away inside his apartment and make sure that they never meet up again...but he knew that Ritsu wouldn't stand for it. If only he'd just give in.

Yokozawa saw Takano's tension and sighed and grumbled and glared at Ritsu. He wished that Takano would only look at him. He had to do something that would permanatly remove Ritsu from Takano's life...maybe a sceme to make Ritsu realize that him and Takano had something.

Ritsu took An's hand and pulled her off the train so she wouldn't get lost in the traffic and headed up the stairs after checking their cards through the machine.

Once they made it to the surface, Ritsu took on to a bus booth so they could catch their scheduled bus to the bath house.

An looked at Ritsu and then blushed. "Ritsu, thank you for coming with me to the bathhouse. Even though it was against your will...please enjoy it." she said.

Ritsu looked down at her and nodded. "Sure." he said givinng her a smile.

Takano saw that smile and approached them and tapped Ritsu on the shoulder. "Onoderu, lets talk." he said pulling him a few feet away.

Ritsu protested and had already had the bags on the bus. "Go ahead An, I will catch the next one." he said.

An bit her lip and sighed and then climbed on board and the bus pulled away. You could see Yokozawa pressing his hands to the back window protesting to. Takano was right behind him and then suddenly he was off the bus.

Ritsu jerked his arm away and looked at Takano and crossed his arms and turned to the side, facing away from him. "What do you want? What was so important that we had to miss the bus?" he asked.

Takano looked at Ritsu and then made him face him. "Do you love that woman? Why is she clinging to you? Why did you smile like that?" he asked.

Ritsu froze up for a moment. "That is none of your buisness. You made us miss the bus for something this ridiculous?" he said.

Takano clenched his fist. "It is not ridiculous, I want to know and we are not leaving until you tell me." he said.

Ritsu clenched his teeth. "Yeah right. I can leave when I damn well want to, and I am right now!" he said.

Takano grabbed Ritsu's chin and brought him to his face and kissed him deeply in front of everyone.

Ritsu was frozen. He did not know what to do or say. He shoved Takano off of him and wiped his lips madly and stormed off and headed for a taxi. He caught one and he got in it.

Takano jumped in on the other side and Ritsu was going to protest, but once again Takano pressed his lips to Ritsu's.

Ritsu pushed him off again and the driver took off and the car was silent on the way to the bathhouse.

When they finally pulled up, Ritsu got out as fast as he could and stormed inside and got his key and met up with An and took her to their room, which was 707. He sighed and sat all the bags down and went and slumped onto the sofa.

"Rit-chan, is there anything you want me to make you for dinner, or should we go to the hot springs together?" she asked and looked down at him smiling sweetly and blushed.

Ritsu looked up at her and sighed. "Let's order room service, then we can go rent a movie to bring back to the room, if that's alright." he said.

An blushed more and nodded quickly. "That is perfect, I will go get the menu's." she said smiling.

Ritsu sighed and stood up and started to unpack his belongings and put them in the dressers that was provided. He went to the restroom and looked in the mirror and then leaned over the sink and rinsed his face.

"Of all possible things that could go wrong...'he' had to come to the same place as me." he grumbled.

An knocked softly on the bathroom door, causing Ritsu to jump a little. He dried his face on the white towel hanging up and then brushed his hair some and sighed and opened the door.

An stared up at him with soft eyes. "Um, I hope you don't mind, I ordered us Sea food." she said blushing.

Ritsu looked down at An. '_This is so like An, always blushing...I feel sorry for her and all...not returning her love._' he thought. "Yes that sounds fine to me." he said smiling at her.

An blushed more and nodded. "Well, um, it's here if you are ready to eat." she said and turned and walked into the bedroom where a small table was near the window.

Ritsu looked around the room, he hadn't really looked at it when they first arrived. It was a very high classed room, he expected it as much since he was from a wealthy family.

The room was a sandy brown color with white border lining around the room. The livingroom and bedroom was joined. There was a four-balance beam bed with a soft white silk blanket and lacy pillows.

Ritsu felt his insides sink, it was a perfect replica of a honeymoon suite, and to make matters worse, there was a bag of red rosepetals laying on the dresser along with to bathrobes.

Ritsu had a gut feeling that this week was going to be a nightmare, the bad thing is, he would be awake during it.

An went and sat over at the table and began to open the food boxes and put everything on plates.

Ritsu walked over to where the table was and looked out the window at a brown fenced in under ground hot tub. He began to feel even worse as he looked back to the room.

"Hey...An...where is the other bed? There is only one in here." he said, his voice sounding like a squeak in the end.

An blushed. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner...um we are in a honeymoon suite, so um...there is only one bed." she whispered.

Ritsu stared at An in disbelief and he dropped his head onto a clean space on the table and groaned. "An~" he grumbled.

An blushed. "I'm sorry, I just wanted us to feel like a real couple. Your mother insisted that we picked this room, and well...I like it." he said sighing.

Ritsu lifted his head. "So you two plotted against me. Ah~ I should have expected something like this." he mumbled and began to eat.

An sighed and ate as well. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to at least pretend that you're mine for a week." she said.

Ritsu sighed and shrugged. "I guess it aint so bad." he said, trying to make her feel better. After all her birthday would be during this trip. "Let's head to the hotsprings after we eat." he said.

An nodded and smiled and blushed. "Yes, lets." she said happliy and ate her food and made small talk with them.

Meanwhile, Takano and Yokozawa were getting situated inside their stay room as well. They walked to room 708 and carried there stuff in.

Takano sighed and went and sat his stuff down and began to unpack.

Yokozawa walked over to him and began to do the same. "What happened between you two after you decieved me back at the bus stop?" he asked, irritation in his voice.

Takano looked up. "That is our buisness...but nothing really." he said and sighed and placed his clothes inside the dresser in their room and then closed it and grabbed his bathrobe and went to the bathroom. He stripped down and put on the bathrobe and walked out. "I am going to the hot spring." he said and walked out of the room.

Yokozawa groaned and laid back on the bed. "I have to do something." he frowned.

**A/N: Well that is all for this chapter. I hope you liked it~ Next chapter An and Yokozawa begin to make their moves. XDDD PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Please Ritsu

**Hello again readers~! Sorry for the delay! It has been a pretty long time since I have updated, and that is because of the poor amount of reviews. The reviews that I did recieve were really interesting to read and it has shown me that even though I have a little amount of readers, I can still write this story. Even if it is for a small group of people, I really think I should continue this story for those people. I would feel really bad if I didn't at least fufill their wishes. So here comes chapter 6, I hope you enjoy!**

**Warning!- MATURE content in this chapter!**

**Chapter 6- Please Ritsu**

Ritsu talked with An as they headed to the joint hot spring. They were wearing white robes that were meant to get wet inside the hotspring, it would be reckless for them to bathe naked together, so they both thought that this was best.

"So Rit-chan...why are you so against marrying me?" An asked, causing Ritsu to tense slightly.

"An...I thought we were passed that." he said sighing.

An sighed. "I just need to know Rit-chan...is it because of me? Is it because I am not good enough?" she asked.

Ritsu stopped walking and rubbed the back of his neck. "It isn't you An alright. I just don't like you in that way...to me it's like...you are a little sister. I know that in highschool I was nice to you and all, it's because I liked you as a friend...but I never intended on giving you the impression that I loved you." he said quietly so the passing couple wouldn't hear their conversation.

An sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Let's go inside." she said and walked into the hot spring.

Ritsu walked in behind her shortly afterwards and looked around. It was completely deserted right now. It was only him and An, which didn't really set well with him. He knew that An wasn't like one of those weird girls that would spike your drink to make you sleep with her, but if his parents had any involvement they would mostly like encourage her to do it.

An was already getting in the water, she had her hair up in a bun as she waded through the waist deep water and over to a bench under the water. She sat down and the water went up to her throat.

"Come in Rit-chan, the water is really warm." she said. She rested her back against the wall of the bath and sighed and smiled.

Ritsu thought for a moment before stepping into the water. "It does feel great." he mumbled as he kept distance between him and An. He didn't want her to get any more weird ideas in her head.

He sighed and felt the tension in his arms and legs just dissolve with the bath salts in the water. He kept his mind off of anything that gave him stress, expecially the reason for this trip, and his boss who is desperatly trying to get him to fall in love with him again.

Ritsu closed his eyes and relaxed even more in the water. He took in the fragrance of the bath oils and the salts in the bath, it smelled of light lavender and a dusky rose. Even if it did smell more feminine, it didn't seem to bother him.

He felt like dozing off in the warm air that was moist and was slipping down to his lungs smoothly. The water felt like a moving warm blanket that you'd wrap up in during the cold season of winter, it felt great...really great.

He had to shake his head some to keep himself awake, he decided to open his eyes to help him stay even more awake, but when he did, he saw An in front of him, closed eyes and lips slightly altered as if she were aiming to kiss him.

He moved, startled and now self concious. His move was useless, because An only moved quickly back into position and placed her lips onto his. She kept them there and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ritsu couldn't move, he was abosolutly at a loss for words or actions. He didn't think An would ever be so bold, but afterall he had kept her hanging all these years, but he couldn't help who he loved. Confusion ran through his head, he knew he had to pull away from her, but his mind and his body were doing two different things.

An took Ritsu's actionless motions as an 'okay' to keep going, mistaking it for approval instead of confusion. She deepened the kiss and held onto Ritsu tighter and tears ran down her eyes.

"Please Rit-chan...choose me." she whispered and laid her head on his chest and kept her arms around his neck. "I love you so much." she whispered.

Ritsu soon relaxed out of his confusion and calmly sat there. "I'm sorry." he whispered and closed his eyes and rubbed her back. He leaned down to her ear. "I'm so sorry An-chan...I told you...already." he whispered in her ear, so that if anyone came in, they wouldn't have heard it.

An clung to Ritsu and sniffled softly into his chest. She trembled in his arms and held him desperatly.

Ritsu looked down at An and then slowly began to push her away.

An only tightened her grasp. "No! Please...just a little longer...at least...let me do this for a few minutes." she whispered in between her crying.

Ritsu relaxed his arms and let her stay there for a few minutes longer.

An sat there for a few more minutes before looking up into Ritsu's eyes. "Can I ask one last thing? Please...just this once and I will never ask again."she whispered.

Ritsu got worried then. "What is it?" he asked. He hoped it wasn't what he feared.

An blushed and bit her lip. "Please...will you...kiss me willingly...for a minute or two...please I swear I will never ask again!" she said, more tears falling down her ivory cheeks.

Ritsu sighed, at least it wasn't what he thought she'd say. He thought about it for a moment and then looked around, the bath was still only being used by them, so he decided to at least give her these two minutes of happiness.

"Alright, but just for two minutes." he said reluctantly with a slight blush himself. "But don't get the idea that I am doing this because I have feelings for you, I already told you how I felt...so after this please respect my wishes from now on."he whispered.

An nodded and blushed. She closed her eyes and waited for what she had wanted most of her teen years. She even smiled a little.

Ritsu took a deep breath and then slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were warm and much like a girls. He didn't feel his heart race at all while kissing her, not like it did with Takano's...wait! Why was he thinking about Takano of all times! That is like the biggest mistake you could do while kissing another person, expecially females, they were really touchy about that stuff.

After a few seconds, Ritsu felt something warm and slick on his lips, he then felt it slide between his lips and into his mouth to meet with his own. He shuddered inwardly as An explored his mouth, it was nothing like he was used to, it ackward and like he was betraying someone. Nevertheless, he went along with it and kissed her back, like he promised.

Ritsu thought he saw something in the corner of his eyes coming towards them, but guessed it was just his imagination, and let An have her way.

Finally after a few more seconds, An pulled back and wiped her lips softly. "Thank you...I will cherish this moment forever." she whispered and hugged him one last time.

It was only then that Ritsu realized that there was an actual person coming towards them, trudging in the water quickly.

He looked up quickly to see Takano charging over to him with an extremely angered face. He felt his insides go cold, never had he seen Takano so angry before. He knew that he was going to hear it now.

But to his surprise when Takano approached and spoke, he sounded calm.

"I'm sorry to interupt, Ms. An...but I have something to discuss to Ritsu, it's urgent, from work." he said.

An stood up and looked at Takano and then to Ritsu. "Um..I will head back to the room then...see you there Rit-chan." she said and left the bath after grabbing her towel.

Ritsu looked down at his hands in the water, he was nervous that he and Takano were now alone.

Takano was silent for a moment, when he finally did speak, it caused Ritsu to jump.

"What in the hell was that?" Takano asked in a low and angered voice.

Ritsu swallowed hard and looked up at Takano. "I don't know what you are talking about." he said and stood up.

"I should go, An is probably worried."he said.

Takano grabbed Ritsu's wrist as he was going by and pulled him roughly to him and grabbed his chin hard and kissed him.

Ritsu winced at the force and the roughness of Takano's touches.

"Ow." he said into Takano's mouth and tried to push him away.

Takano only got rougher as he pushed Ritsu up against the egdge of the bath and slipped in between his legs and kissed him deeper.

Ritsu winced and tried to push him away even further. "Stop." he gasped out as his lips left Takano's, only to return shortly afterwards.

Takano pulled back a few seconds later from the kiss and looked deep into Ritsu's eyes with hurt and lonely eyes. "Onoderu." he whispered.

Ritsu blushed and felt like he was going to cry. "What?" he whispered back.

Takano hugged Ritsu to him. "Don't let her take you from me...don't kiss anyone else...don't hold anyone else...don't let anyone else touch you...please." he whispered, begging in his voice.

Ritsu went soft against Takano's chest and he said nothing as Takano began to touch his outer thigh's. He would often feel Takano cup his bottom and massage his sides with his thumbs while kissing on his neck.

Takano slid his hands inside of the top of Ritsu's robe and tugged it open, revealing the treasure inside. He looked at Ritsu's body for a moment and then into his eyes.

"Love me...love me only." he whispered before leaning down and kissing Ritsu's chest.

Ritsu shivered softly, this time it was a good shiver. When An kissed him, he felt ackward, but when it was Takano, it felt just right. He still wouldn't admit to loving him, he still denied it...but right now he couldn't even speak, he felt happiness and the warmth that he had felt back in highschool.

Takano reached down and slowly ran his hand over Ritsu's lower stomach. He then went lower and ran his hand down Ritsu's length, and even smiled a little when it reacted to his touch. He felt his heart pick up the pace as he knew that he was about to take Ritsu once again.

He lined himself up with Ritsu's entrance and was about to take the important first thrust that would send his body spiraling into a hot volcano of intense pleasure, when they were interupted by his much unwanted friend at the time.

"Masamune, what are you doing? Don't stay in to long or you will faint." Yokozawa said wading over to them, not yet seeing Ritsu tucked under Takano's chest staring wide eyed.

Takano pulled away and stepped aside to expose Ritsu's naked body with the bath robe floating around his shoulders. "Go away." he hissed.

Ritsu gasped and pulled his robe back down over his body and sealed it with the robe string. He began to quickly make his way out of the bath, but Takano stopped him by catching his arm.

"Onoderu, wait." Takano said.

Ritsu stood there for a moment, not sure what to do, but cleared his head and shook it and then pulled away from his grasp and ran off and out of the bath. He quickly got dried off and put on the dry green robe and went back to his room, where An had already ate and went to bed.

He laid down on his futon and squezzed his eyes shut and tried to stop his racing thoughts.

Meanwhile back in the bath, Yokozawa stared hard at Takano. "What were you thinking, Masamune!" he snapped.

Takano crossed his arms and fixed his own robe up and looked at Yokozawa. "You know you really piss me off some times. You runied it, completely ruined it." he said and began walking out of the bath. "It's my damn buisness of what I was doing, and who I was doing it with." he snapped back.

Yokozawa grabbed Takano's shoulder and stopped him. "That bastard is going to mess you up again!" he yelled.

Takano turned around quickly and punched Yokozawa in the face. "Listen, Yokozawa...we've been friends since College, you are a great friend and an amazing colleage...and I wouldn't trade anyone for you...but don't ever let me hear you say one bad thing about Onoderu again. It's my damn buisness who I sleep with and love. We slept together a couple of times back then, but I told you before we started working together that our relationship was strictly professional...unless you want to be hiring another manga editor, then leave Ritsu the fuck alone. This is my last warning. I want us to still be friends, but you need to get over what was in the past!" he yelled and walked out.

Yokozawa stood there, even more angered. Like hell he was going to let that scrawny asshole come back and take away the only love he has ever felt. He wasn't giving up, it was far from over, and that much was for sure.

**Well that is it for this chapter, I hope you've all enjoyed it! Sorry for the late update . This is NOT the last chapter so please keep reading~! PLEASE REVIEW, need at least 8 reviews before I upload another chapter~! Please review, I love hearing you guys's thought! Well until next time~! :D**


	7. Why?

**Hello guys, sorry it took me so long to get back to writing XD But I come with some bad news. My computer is going back to the factory to get fixed so my uploading time is going to be slow, seeing as how I will now have to use the computers out in the computer cafe, but I will continue to upload, also I am moving into a new flat later this week so it will be a bit before I get everything set up so, it might be a bit until the chapter after this is put up! Anyway~ I hope you enjoy this chapter~! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW~!**

**Chapter 7- Why?**

Ritsu rolled over in the middle of the night. He still hadn't fell asleep, how could he after what happened in the bath? His mind was still zipping everywhere because of it. How could one person, let along a man, make someone so sensitive to touches. He could still feel the burn of Takano's fingers on his thighs and hips. He knew that if they did have sex, he would've enjoyed it, despite what his mind said.

He sighed and sat up on his futon. He looked over to An, she was still asleep. He got up and walked over to the door and walked out, shutting it quietly. He needed to get something to drink, maybe that would help him sleep better.

He walked quietly down the hall so he wouldn't wake up the other guests. He walked up to the drink machines and put in some yen and pushed the warm milk button. When he was younger, his mother told him that sometimes warm milk can settle the mind so you could sleep better, in times he found that it was true. He hoped it would work this time.

Instead of going back to the room, he walked outside to the outdoor bath and sat down on a bench a few feet away from the water. The warm moist air of the bath was relaxing, he could feel his mind slowly calming down.

"Much better." he muttered and took a sip of his warm milk. He stared into the water and allowed himself to imagine he were at home. A person could never tell how much they missed home, until they are away from it awhile.

He sighed and rubbed his shoulders and downed the rest of his milk. "Ah~" he sighed and threw the carton away in the trash can near the bath.

He sat back down on the bench and supported his body with his hands and leaned back a little.

He closed his eyes and relaxed as much as he could. He smiled and sighed again and opened his eyes and nearly jumped out of his skin. There standing in front of him, was none other than Yokozawa.

"A-ah, Yokozawa-san." Ritsu stammered, trying to figure out how he got by him so quietly.

Yokozawa glared down at Ritsu and then reached forward and jerked him up by the neck of his robe.

Ritsu winced and coughed. "H-hey what was that for?" he coughed and tried to pull away from his grasp.

Yokozawa looked Ritsu dead in the eyes and pushed him away, causing him to fall back on his bottom.

"I thought I told you not to interfere with Masamune." he said with pure hatred and anger on his face.

Ritsu looked up at Yokozawa. "I don't know what you are talking about." he said, rising to his feet. He brushed himself off and rubbed his throat.

Yokozawa's furrowed brows only got deeper. "You know damn well what I'm talking about...this evening in the bath." he hissed, his voice low and hostile.

Ritsu felt his heart sank. "T-that wasn't me, he is the one who started it." he said, a slight blush come across his face.

Yokozawa saw his cheeks turn to a pink shade and it only angered him more.

"You pathetic bastard...you hurt him once, and here you are again, trying to tear him down after he built himself up. You are nothing but a hindrence in his life, you need to just disappear." he hissed.

Ritsu's eyes went wide as Yokozawa told him off. He felt his heart twist into knots. "I see.." he whispered.

Ritsu frowned. "What did I do to him? What do you think I did to him, Yokozawa-san?" he asked, his voice had a slight tremor in it.

Yokozawa crossed his arms. "You completely abandoned him after highschool. You ditched him to run off with that woman you are with now, the one you are engaged to." he said.

Ritsu looked up. "I am not engaged to An! Only my parents say so, but I turned it down right away!" he said, trying desperatly to get his point across.

"Yeah, right. I bet you are playing house with her and screw around with Masamune when she isn't looking!" Yokozawa spat.

Ritsu shook his head. "No! That isn't it, I am not that type of person! I would never do that to An or Takano-san." he said.

Yokozawa smirked. "You already have, you messed him up back at the end of highschool, it was I who helped him get back on track, it was me who held him those nights he was falling apart. I am the one who got Masamune to stand on his own two feet again, it was ME, not YOU!" he yelled.

Ritsu clenched his fist. "Like I said, I didn't do anything!" he said, defending himself the best way he could.

"Like hell you didn't, you are responsible for the way he was 10 years ago, you crushed him and completely left him hanging alone!" Yokozawa snarled.

Ritsu shook his head. "NO! It wasn't me!" he yelled.

Yokozawa crossed his arms and clenched his fist hard. "WHY...why did you leave him like that Ritsu, was he not good enough for you? Was he just some plaything you wanted to use for awhile and toss him aside? WHY RITSU, WHY?" he said.

Ritsu clutched his chest. "I told you already, it wasn't like that!" he said, his voice getting weaker, he was losing this battle.

Yokozawa grabbed the collar of Ritsu's robe. "Why, Ritsu?" he snarled quietly.

Ritsu looked down at the ground. "I didn't do it." he whispered squeezing his eyes shut.

"Open your damn eyes and tell me why!" Yokozawa said.

Ritsu could feel hot tears burning in his eyes, but he forced himself to hold them in. "I didn't do it." he whispered again.

Yokozawa tossed Ritsu into the bath and glared down at him.

Ritsu came back above water and held his elbow, he had hit it on the bottom of the bath.

"Stand clear of Masamune...next time you won't get off easily." he spat and turned and walked out.

Ritsu covered his eyes with his bangs and slowly got out of the bath. He walked dripping wet down the hallway slowly, Yokozawa's words ringing in his head.

_'Why...you ask? Why? Am...I really the cause...of his pain?'_ he thought as hot tears fell down his cheeks, but the water from his hair was also dripping down his face, which masked his embarassing tears well.

He walked down the hall and bumped into someone and he backed up and bowed.

"Sorry." he whispered and then looked up to see Takano standing there.

He felt his heart skip a beat and Yokozawa's words rung loudly in his head, over and over again...it was painful.

Takano's eyes went wide as he looked down at the drenched Ritsu. "Onodera?" he said and put his arms on his shoulders. "What happened, why are you so wet?" he asked, worried.

Ritsu shrugged Takano's hands off, he refused to tell Takano about his little rough chat with their boss. "I just fell into the bath." he said and walked passed Takano, not meeting his eyes.

Takano watched him walk past and then he spotted blood trickling down Ritsu's arm. He caught him by his shoulder and pulled his sleeve up to see his scrapped elbow.

"You're hurt!" Takano exclaimed and looked down at Ritsu, who was still looking away from him.

Ritsu jerked his arm away. "It's just a scratch, I hit my elbow when I fell. It was slippery, alright." he said. "I'm going to bed." he whispered and walked away.

Takano stared after Ritsu and then he looked down at the ground. He looked up when he heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"Masamune, what are you doing up?" Yokozawa asked. He glanced down the hallway to see Ritsu walking away.

Takano looked up and saw Yokozawa with slight moistness on his brow. "Where were you?" he asked.

Yokozawa paused for a second. "I went and relaxed in the outdoor bath for a while." he said.

Takano's brow then furrowed and his anger went into overdrive as he grabbed Yokozawa by his robe and pulled him down the hall to their room. He closed the door once they were in and he slammed Yokozawa against the wall.

"What did you do to him?" Takano yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Yokozawa strained out, the breath was knocked out of him from the force of being thrown against the wall.

"Don't play dumb on me asshole, I know you did something to him, he was soaking wet and his elbow was scrapped. You hurt him didn't you! Didn't you!" Takano hissed, his face red with anger.

Yokozawa looked down at Takano. "I didn't do anything to him." he choked out, the grip around the collar of his robe now beginning to choke him a little.

Takano's eyes glared even deeper. "Like hell you didn't, I heard some people walking down the hallway saying there was an argument going on in the bath...don't you dare lie to me dammit, cause I know the truth." he snarled.

Yokozawa pulled away from Takano's tight grasp. "So I told him to back off, so what." he said.

Takano threw his fist forward and it went right into the wall beside Yokozawa's face. "I told you...leave him the hell alone! I told you not to mess with him anymore." he yelled.

Yokozawa frowned. "Why do you want to be around someone who is constantly hurting you?" he yelled.

Takano frowned. "He hasn't done anything, that was all in the past and I could care less, but now is the present and I am desperatly clinging onto the hope of him being mine again and you are ruining it dammit! LEAVE HIM ALONE." he snarled and pulled back.

Yokozawa brushed himself off. "I will not, I will do anything to stop him from hurting you again." he said and crossed his arms.

Takano hissed. "Get the hell out of my room. Go away, don't you come back to this room again. GO!" he said and grabbed Yokozawa's suitcase and threw it in the hall. "You mess with Ritsu, and dammit you deal with me." he yelled and slammed the door shut and locked it.

Yokozawa crossed his arms and went and checked into anothe room with the spare money he had. He wasn't going to give up, he has come to far with Takano for Ritsu just to screw it up.

Meanwhile Ritsu was just arriving at his room. He walked inside and closed the door. He changed into some dry clothes and laid back down on his futon. He buried his face into his pillow and cried his eyes out silently.

_'What did I do...that hurt him so bad?'_ he thought. Sleep didn't take him until early that morning, and when it did, he felt some relief...he knew what he had to do.

**Well that was the end of this chapter~! T^T I hope you liked it. I hope I did well on it~! Anyway, I will try to upload as much as I can before I have to go to work today, so please hang in there~! :D PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE~! THANK YOU~! I need a good amount of reviews before I post the next chapter :DDD SO REVIEW~!**


	8. Not Possible

**Hello again, here is another chapter that I stirred up so that I wouldn't leave you guys hanging for to long :D. I hope you guys liked the previous chapter, and I hope I can continue to live up to your expectations! Please forgive me for all spelling mistakes and punctuation errors, if you saw any. I currently do not have an editor for this story, so if anyone is up for the job and it won't spoil your reading experience of the story, then please PM me and we'll talk buisness. If I don't answer right away, I am busy, but I will get around to answering you as soon as I can. Thank you and Enjoy~!**

**PS- EDIT NOTE: Sorry for the previous mispelled name of Ritsu! I realize my mistake and I apologize! Onoderu is originally spelled Onodera. The mistake will no longer appear in chapters.**

**Sorry for the confusion!**

**Chapter 8- Not Possible**

Ritsu woke around lunchtime the next day. He sat up and rubbed his temple. The events of last night were still in the back of his mind, but he shook it off and stood up. He looked around and saw An trimming some dead ends of a rose plant in the room.

"Oh, Rit-chan. Did you sleep well?" she asked and sat the pair of clippers down on the table and walked over to him. She smiled softly at him and brushed some hair behind her ear as if she were nervous.

"A-ah...yes, thank you." he said and ran his hand through his hair.

An smiled and rubbed up and down her arm. "So I was thinking...since you've slept in this late, that we could just go out for lunch. I already had breakfast a couple of hours ago, so I could go for some about now." she said.

Ritsu looked at the clock. "I slept a long time." he said, surprise light in his voice. After the night he had last night, he wasn't all that surprised, but he didn't want An to think something happened.

An smiled. "Great, then I will go get ready." she said and walked over to her suitcase and began modeling some clothes in the mirror while smiling.

Ritsu watched her for a few moments and then sighed quietly and walked over to his own suitcase and pulled out something to wear. He went to the bathroom and put on a pair of shorts and a light blue shirt. He combed his hair and brushed his teeth after washing his face off.

He looked outside once he came out of the bathroom and sighed. He hoped he wouldn't have to run into Takano any...he didn't want to feel the way he did last night. He just wanted to run away from what is causing him pain, if only he could actually do it, but he had to work.

He sighed and folded his robe and sat it on the chair near the sitting area.

"I'm ready, Rit-chan." she said and blushed as she came into view. She was wearing a white summer dress with sun flowers on them. She looked cute and very womanly.

Ritsu forced himself to smile. "You look nice." he said.

An blushed at his comment and nodded. "Thank you." she whispered and smiled more.

Ritsu leaned down and tied his shoes and picked up a bag that held the work he was supposed to be doing. He knew that the bet he had with Takano was outragous, because he only had about a week and a half, left to do it. He was almost done with the editing, he had about twenty pages to go. After that he only had to get it approved, serialized, and decide how many to print, before shipping it off to stores.

He had already talked to one of the administrators about going to get it approved. He would take a two hour train ride to get to the administrator, then get back on the train and head back to go to get it serialized, then printed. If he managed to do this all in a week's time, he could have it done by the early part of next week and the bet would be over, he would have won.

_'That's right...if I can get it all done...then it will be over...truely over. That's all I want...but...why do I feel this irritating pang in my chest?'_ he thought to himself as he and An walked down the hallway to leave the spa and bath house.

He made small talk with An as they walked down the road. A few minutes later they arrived at a small sea food restaurant.

"Let's eat here, Rit-chan." she said and pulled him inside.

Ritsu wasn't really in the mood for fish, but he went along with it anyway, his mind was elsewhere right now.

He walked inside with her and found them a table, ordering their drinks in the process. He then sat down and pulled out his work material and set to work while they were waiting on their food.

"Rit-chan...you are going to work on our vacation?" she asked.

Ritsu smiled. "Sorry, it won't take long. Plus I'm not going to do it all here, just a few quick pieces that I missed." he said.

An nodded and sighed and sipped her tea. "Do you think we could go on the nature trails after we eat? It would be good exercise." she said.

Ritsu was wrapped up in his work so he only mumbled a little and kept working.

An sighed and looked down into her tea cup. "Rit-chan...I've noticed recently...that you've been wrapped up in Takano-sama's work that he assigned you...and on the train you were talking about a bet...what was he talking about?" she asked.

Ritsu stopped working and stared down at his work. "A-ah...it's just a small joke we have between us. If I win the bet, he has to buy me lunch for a month." he said laughing nervously.

An frowned and looked out the window. "So he is the one you loved in junior high." she said, causing Ritsu to freeze.

Ritsu gasped and waved his hands out in front of him. "N-no you misunderstood, it's not li-"

"Not like that? Sure it is, I noticed the way you look at him. I know exactly how you felt for him, how you still feel for him." she said. "I can't believe I am losing to a man." he said.

Ritsu was at a loss for words. He looked down and hid his eyes with his bangs. "Ah...I...don't know what to say." he whispered.

An looked at him. "Why, Rit-chan...nothing could ever come out of a relationship with a man...I can give you so much more! I can give you a wife, children and love better than a man could ever give you." she whispered.

Ritsu shrugged. "I just...don't feel that way towards you An, you're like a little sister." he said and looked up into her eyes.

An looked back into Ritsu's eyes. "Well maybe you'll learn to love me in time." she whispered. "Why won't you just give me a chance?" she asked.

Ritsu sighed and looked at her and shook his head. "I just can't." he whispered.

An slammed her hands down on the table and stood up and leaned over and kissed Ritsu, holding his face so he couldn't get away.

Ritsu pulled away and stood up. "An..." he said and wiped his mouth.

An looked at Ritsu and shook her head. She ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Ritsu, please don't reject me." she whispered, calling him by his name only.

Ritsu pushed her away gently. "An, stop it." he said.

An shook her head. "I am done with being nice." she said and took his hand and held it tightly. "I will marry you." she whispered.

Ritsu sighed and shook his head. "No...An." he whispered. He pulled his hand away. "Please don't do this, we're causing a scene, we'll talk more later let's just sit down." he said and sat down.

An sat down as well and eyed Ritsu. "Stop working, this is our vacation." she said and pulled the papers away from him.

Ritsu blinked and reached for the papers, but An picked them up and was looking over them.

"So you work in the manga editing buisness. I thought you were more of a literature person." she said flipping through the papers.

Ritsu took the papers from her and sighed. "Sorry An-chan but nobody is allowed to see it until it's out in stores." he said.

An sighed and brushed her hair behind her. She sipped her tea and began to eat once the waitor brought their food.

Ritsu put away his papers and nibbled at his food. He looked out the window often, the air was to tense to say anything, if anything he wanted this meal to go over with no talking at all, it felt better that way.

An cleared her throat finally and sat her glass down. "Are you two dating?" she asked.

Ritsu almost choked on his flounder. "W-what, of course not...I don't want to repeat last times mistakes." he said and sat his fork down.

"I'd rather not talk about it." he whispered. "And if you could be so kind...please don't tell my parents about this, they'd go crazy." he said and looked down.

Ritsu sighed and looked at her and stood up. "Didn't you say you wanted to go walking down some trails?" he asked.

An stood up. "You actually heard me?" she asked, grabbing her purse.

Ritsu nodded. "I did." he said and paid for the food at the desk and walked back to the bath and spa house and looked for the trail entrances.

"There it is, the entrance." An said and pulled Ritsu off down the first trail. It was supposively the longest trail there.

"That is a long trail, what if we get lost?" Ritsu asked and walked along beside her.

"It will be alright, there should be some resting area's along the way, at least that's what the vacation manual said back in the room." she said.

Ritsu sighed. He wasn't a very nature loving person, he'd rather just be at home reading literature and doing his work like he's supposed to. He like the challenges that his career gave him.

He followed An down the trails and they stopped at the resting points when they came across them. When they finally managed to make it back to the spa and bath house, it was almost dark.

Ritsu's stomach growled loudly. "I think we should eat." he mumbled.

An shook her head and yawned. "I think I am just going to go to bed, you can go out to eat something if you'd like." she said.

Ritsu nodded and walked her back to the room and made sure she was safely within the walls of the room like a gentleman should, and then turned to head out for something to eat.

As he was turning down the hall to leave, he bumped into a taller figure.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." he said and rubbed his nose, which he had hit on the other person's shoulder.

"Onodera?" Takano asked and looked down at the smaller male.

Ritsu froze up and backed up. "T-Takano-san?" he asked and looked up.

Takano looked down at Ritsu and sighed. "Is your arm better?" he asked.

Ritsu glanced down at his elbow and nodded. "Ah...yeah." he said.

Takano took Ritsu's chin into his mouth and made him look up at him. "I know that Yokozawa is the cause of it." he said.

Ritsu frowned. "No, it wasn't him, I slipped that's all." he said and smacked Takano's hand away, not roughly but about middle ways.

"Where are you heading to at this time of day?" Takano asked.

Ritsu walked around Takano. "Going out for dinner." he mumbled and tried to walk away as quickly as he could, but Takano was on his trails.

"What about the girl you're with?" he asked.

"She's gone to bed." he said. "We had a long day on the trails." he muttered and walked out of the building.

Takano caught Ritsu's wrist. "Then let's eat together." he said.

Ritsu clenched his fist tightly and pulled his arm away from Takano. "No thanks, I want to eat alone." he whispered, Yokozawa's words in his head loud and clear still.

Takano frowned. "Why not, it's just dinner?" he said.

Ritsu shook his head. "No." he said and walked off.

Takano frowned deeply and followed him. He grabbed Ritsu from behind and pulled him into the woods and pushed him against a large tree.

"Onodera, why are you avoiding me?" he asked and took Ritsu's chin into his hands and then kissed him deeply.

Ritsu groaned into the kiss as he tried to push him away desperatly. "Stop." he mumbled into Takano's mouth.

"No." Takano whispered and ran his hand up Ritsu's shirt.

Ritsu flinched as his skin instantly grew hot. "Stop!" he yelled and pushed Takano off of him. He rubbed his mouth with the back of his arm and looked away. "Stop doing that." he said.

Takano looked at Ritsu longingly. "I love you, Onodera." he said.

Ritsu blushed slightly and looked away. "I...don't return those feelings." he whispered.

Takano shook his head and pushed Ritsu against the tree again and made him look at him. "I don't believe you, not after last night and the nights like that before." he whispered.

Ritsu could feel Takano's eyes burning through his pupils and into the depths of his soul. "Those were just one time things." he whispered, desperatly trying to keep himself together.

Takano smirked. "You still suck at lying." he whispered.

Ritsu pushed him off and looked at the ground. "Whatever...you won't have to worry about me lying much longer." he whispered.

Takano's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, you're finally going to give in to me?" he asked a slight smirk on his lips.

Ritsu shook his lips. "The opposite...when I finish the bet and win...I will be leaving the manga editing department and will be going into the literature department...I will also be moving into a different apartment." he whispered.

Takano's smirk disappeared instantly. "What?" he asked, his voice slightly angered.

He took Ritsu's arms into his roughly. "I won't allow it." he snapped.

Ritsu looked Takano in the eyes. His eyes had slight hints of pain, sadness and a distant longing in them. "You don't have a say so in the matter." he said and removed Takano's hands from his arms.

"I gave you my two week notice, I hope we can still act normal at work." he whispered and walked away, leaving a shocked Takano.

Takano slumped against the tree and stared down at the ground. Why was everything happening again? He knew that Ritsu loved him, so why was he denying it? Is it because of Yokozawa...or was it that woman he was with?

He slumped down to the ground and pulled his knee's to his chest and rested his face in his hands. "How much are you going to torture me." he whispered and sighed.

He had to do something, he wouldn't let go this easily, not after feeling the pain of losing Ritsu once, he would absoulutely not do it again! He forbidded himself to give up.

Meanwhile Ritsu was running down the road with tears flowing down his cheeks. "It's just not possible!" he whispered and ran to the park near the Spa and bath house. He huffed as he sat down and let his head fall into his hands.

_'If I really did something to hurt you those years ago...then it isn't possible for us to be together...I do not want to be responsible for hurting you again...I can't do it again! I don't want to hurt you anymore! So please...give up on me...I'm a cruel person.'_ he thought as he cried into the night. He couldn't take much more of this.

**I hope you liked this chapter :D I really hope you guys will continue to read it and review to it :D Next time: An and Ritsu, Takano and Yokozawa are heading home frmo their vacation. Ritsu begins to bury himself in work to keep his mind off of what Yokozawa had said to him, in result begins to overwork himself. Takano tries to keep Ritsu from winning the bet, and soon begins to realize that Ritsu is hurting just as much as he is, but for what? Please continue reading to see what happens to these to forbidden lovebirds :D PLEASE READ AND REVIEW, THANK YOU!**

**-Ritsuka-san**


	9. Give in!

**Hello again, sorry for the delay. As I said before-I think I said at least-my computer is going back to the company to be fixed. So for now I am having to update on my Universities computers, and you aren't allowed to save things on them so I have to bring my flash key and all that annoying stuff, so yeah, I will update as much as I can, sorry for the delay~! Please enjoy, and please review as well~! Thank you for you all your continuous support!**

**DISCLAIMER!- I DO NOT OWN THIS SERIES**

**Chapter 10- Give In!**

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><p>Ritsu got up the next morning and pulled his work clothes on. He gathered up his work things and headed out.<p>

Two days had passed since he last moved in, he called into work sick and laid around the house until he finished the final touches to his bet with Takano. He had to go in today to go to the sales meeting to complete it and win. He sighed heavily. Takano would be there. He wasn't really looking forward to it, but then again he wouldn't mind seeing him, if only they didn't talk.

Ritsu grabbed his coat, put it on, and walked out the door. He looked over to Yokozawa's house; thank god he had left already.

He then directed his focus back to the meeting that was to take place today. Even if he did finished the bet, he would still have to work under Takano until he could find another editing job. He closed his eyes as he waited for a cab. Since he lived only half an hour away, he would take a taxi. It would be much easier, seeing that the nearest train station all the way in town.

He sighed as he climbed in a taxi as it pulled up. He called for it earlier over the phone so he wouldn't have to go all they way into town. After looking at his watch, he closed his eyes and tried to rest some before he got there. He would have to speak in this meeting, since it was his project.

Ritsu shook his head and laid his head back on the seat. "I want this meeting to be over as quick as possible." he muttered.

Meanwhile Takano was walking into work, his face was full of agitation and determination. He hoped that Ritsu hadn't completed all the work. He went into his desk and sat down. He looked up as he saw Yokozawa come into the room.

"Masamune! Why haven't you answered any of my calls?" He roared.

Takano stood up. "I have been thinking and now I am ready to talk to you, so sit down," He said. "Hurry up while we're still alone," He said.

Yokozawa hesitated for a moment, but sat down. He looked at Takano and nodded. "What is it?" He asked.

Takano cleared his throat. "I am telling you this to warn you. I love Onodera, not you. I'm sorry but that's just how it is. I love him so much…You and I slept together back then, but I told you I felt nothing for you; I was messed up. Leave Ritsu along, I beg you. If I lose Ritsu again, I will just fall right back into what happened all those years ago," He said. "Do you really want that happen? I mean if you love me as much as you say you do, then shouldn't you wish me the best?" He asked.

Yokozawa clenched his fist tightly. "I don't want to give you to him, that idiot who messed you up," He said roughly.

Takano sighed. "Yokozawa, it wasn't Ritsu's fault, there were a lot of things going on then. I moved with my mother after my parents split up; a new town and new life was a lot to take in back then," He said. "Yokozawa, what happened between me and Ritsu was partly my fault," He whispered.

Yokozawa looked at him. "What do you mean?" He asked.

Takano sighed. "It was a misunderstanding actually…We had slept together one afternoon after school, and afterwards he asked me if I loved him…Well I was embarrassed and startled at the question and I thought it was a weird question to ask after all we'd done, so I laughed…He took it the wrong way and kicked me and ran off, I never could find him afterwards to explain," He said.

Yokozawa's eyebrows creased and he shook his head. "That is stupid, he was probably just using you and planned that whole thing out to let you down easily," He said.

Takano shook his head. "No..." He said, a smile spreading across his lips as he looked off into the distance a little as if remembering their childhood, "No, he really loved me," He whispered.

Yokozawa closed his eyes tightly for a minute and crossed his arms. "I don't accept it," he said angrily.

Takano sighed. "You are going to have to get over it," He whispered. "Because I cannot live without him," He said.

Yokozawa stood up and looked at Takano before finally turning and walking away.

Takano sighed. "Finally," He whispered. The look Yokozawa gave him was of defeat. He stood up and went to find Ritsu. The meeting was soon and he wanted to stall him as much as he could-or even better-tell him that it is alright for them to be together.

Meanwhile, Ritsu was just arriving at the office. He sighed as he pushed the button on the elevator; he wanted to be out of here as quickly as he could.

Ritsu sighed as it opened up again on his floor. He stepped out only to run into Takano himself.

"Onodera, I was looking for you." he said and took his arm in his hand and pulled him down to the bathroom.

Ritsu protested the whole way, but he still ended up being pulled to the bathroom.

Takano opened up the door and pulled him in, shutting and locking the door behind them afterwards.

"What is it now, we have a meeting in five minutes," Ritsu said, not meeting Takano's eyes.

Takano pushed Ritsu up against the counter and tilted his chin up and kissed him gently.

"Just hear me out okay," Takano whispered.

Ritsu looked down at his feet and moved out of Takano's grasp.

Takano took that as a 'go ahead' notion. He cleared his throat, removed his glasses, and looked at Ritsu.

"A long time ago, back when we hadn't even talked yet, back before you confessed to me for the first time…At first I thought, 'man this guy is crazy'….But you showed me that I was wrong. I was the weird one, to ever think you were weird. You lit up my heart and showed me new things. I always thought I was alone because of my mother and father's problems at home. When I discovered you had been watching me…It made me a little happy, to know that I was being looked at, that I was being noticed. Everyday you would look through which book I was reading and putting your name under mine," He said softly.

Ritsu's heart began to speed up and his cheeks flushed, but he didn't allow Takano to see his face.

Takano shifted and continued on. "Ritsu, the day you confessed to me, I thought you were some crazy stalker dude. Then, I realized that you were pure and really too simple-minded to do something like that, although you had stalked me a little bit before, but I didn't mind. Ritsu, when I began to love you, it was as if the world revolved around you. No star shined brighter than you, no warmth could ever surpass the warmth you had in your heart. There was no mountain that stood more magnificent than you did. I fell hard for you, and I am still falling hard for you," He whispered.

Ritsu was beginning to tear up, these words made him so happy, so very happy.

Takano walked over to him and wrapped his arms around him from behind him.

"Ritsu, you took me to the stars the first time we made love…Even now, I can barely resist the urge to hold you tightly in my arms, to leave my kiss marks all over you for the world to see, and to show them you belong only to me," He whispered.

Ritsu trembled in Takano's arms.

Takano held him tighter to his chest and began to whisper in his ear. "My heart was stolen by you…So let me steal yours again, please love me again Ritsu…And one more thing…You didn't do anything to hurt me in the past, I mean it was a big misunderstanding and it was basically my fault, I should have just told you how I felt then...I am so sorry Ritsu, it makes me wonder that if I had told you how I felt then…Then maybe we would've been together all these years...I want to be together with you….For the many years to come." he whispered.

Ritsu wiped his eyes and sighed inwardly. _'That's a relief, I didn't hurt him as bad as I thought, and he's right, he is half at fault.'_

Takano let Ritsu go. "I will let you think about it…Tell me the answer after the meeting," He said softly and kissed Ritsu sweetly and then left the bathroom.

Ritsu placed his fingers on his lips after Takano left…They were tingling from where he had been kissed. He then shook his head. He couldn't give in, not after all of this. He shook his head, walked off to the meeting room, and sat down.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He only had 25 minutes to get the bet finished, if not, he'd lose…He wanted to win…Didn't he?

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><p><strong>Well that is it for this chapter~! I hope you guys enjoyed it~! In the next chapter...THE FINALE...WILL RITSU STILL GO WITH TAKANO EVEN IF HE WINS, OR WILL HE WIN AND LEAVE~! ALL NEXT TIME, PLEASE REVIEW, I MUST GET AT LEAST 8 REVIEWS BEFORE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED~! SO REVIEW AWAY~! TY<strong>

**P-S: I would like to think my cousin, Fumina-san, for editing this chapter~! (OoO) SHE SAYS HI. :D**


	10. Results

**Hello guys, sorry for the wait~! Well this is it, the final chapter~! Will Ritsu continue on with his decision to win and make Takano leave him alone, or will he decide to give in~! Well you guys are here to find out so please enjoy~! It would be so kind if you guys would review, I want to see what you guys thought of the final chapter~!**

**P.S- sorry if the number of the chapters are wrong, I think I lost one of my chapters on my laptop so I don't remember which number I left off on. On here it says that last chapter was 9 and this one is ten, but I am just going to call it eleven O.O Sorry if there was any confusion there.**

**Chapter 11- The Result**

Ritsu was looking over his papers with the others around the meeting table.

"For the first printers, I think it would be best to print 200,000 copies to begin with." he began.

Yokozawa glared and crossed his arms. "Impossible, there is no way that a new manga is going to sell that many copies right away, I say 100,000." he said.

Takano looked over the papers. "The manga was very good, the editing is perfect, I don't see anything wrong with it, I agree with Onodera, the more we sale, the better profit. The advertising idea was flawless." he said, still looking at the papers.

Ritsu felt his face grow a little hot at Takano's small praising. He nodded at Takano as thanks and continues on.

"Like I said, 200,000 copies should sale fast, the mangaka to this book has created many other legends. Everyone loves her books." Ritsu said glancing around the table.

"He has a point." the woman across the table. She was the repersenative for the fifth floor.

Isaka looked over Ritsu's proposals and his advertising plan. "Everything looks fine, so I say I would have to agree with Takano and Onodera." he said.

Yokozawa shook his head. "It is a big mistake, if the same thing that happened with the other recent manga, happened now, it would cause another gap in the sales, we can't afford to loose any sales at this point." he said.

Takano looked at Yokozawa. "Then are we also going to have another problem like the one before that project, the one where we didn't print enough! We need as many copies out as we can, this book will sale!" he said, his voice raising.

Ritsu gulped inwardly and nodded. "This manga will definantly sale, it is interesting and I am sure that it will attract a lot of attention in stores." he said. "Shoujo manga is getting popluar lately with most of the young ladies." he finished.

Isaka sighed and rubbed his temples and looked at everyone around the table.

"Let's go with 170,500." he said.

Takano sat back and grumbled. "That is crazy, we should go with the orignal amount that Onodera has thought of, I am sure this manga will sale." he said.

Isaka shrugged. "Let us try 170,500 first, if we see a rapid increase in sales, we will imediatly print more before we run out." he said. "Is that agreeable with everyone?" he asked.

Takano glanced at the clock. He glanced at Onodera and flashed a grin before turning back to the others. "NO. We are not leaving this room until we get a higher amount of prints." he said.

Isaka sighed, he knew this was going to happen for some reason. He sat up to the table and looked through the papers. "Alright Ritsu let's go over your plan one more time and come up with a final decision." he said.

Ritsu noticed something funny behind Takano's grin, he watched as he saw him look at the clock again. He felt his heart flutter as he saw the time. He only had ten minutes left! Takano was stalling time! He swallowed hard and nodded. "Let's make it quick." he said, not glancing at Takano.

Takano chuckled inwardly, knowing that Ritsu now knew his motive. He picked up the documents in front of him and thought of all possible questions to keep them in this room.

Ritsu cleared his throat and began going over his proposal once again.

"The proposal I am offering is to make the new manga series, Ultra Maniac, by Wataru Yoshizumi, to hit the stores with the printing number of 200,000. Wataru Yoshizumi has made many great manga's so it's only natural that her newest manga's would be checked out right away, expecially those who are Yoshizumi-san's fans." he said and took a breath then continued.

"Yoshizumi-san worked really hard on this series and it deserves to be sold at a respectable amount." he finished up.

Takano smiled and looked up. "What are your plans for advertising?" he asked.

Ritsu glared at Takano. "As I said at the beginning of the meeting, the first time we went over it, I was hoping there could be billboards announcing the new release. A lot of the sales have advertising boards now days, so I thought we might attempt that approach." he said.

"But what if the billboards are to little, what if they don't like that approach, what do you suppose we do then to advertise?" Takano asked, pushing his glasses up slightly.

Ritsu was getting on edge each time the minutes decreased. "Then we will go with the second plan and move on to bigger things, like maybe an ad in a couple of manga magazines to announce the new release, or possibly a small mini-animated comercial. After all the authour wishes to turn it into a anime series shortly afterwards and has already discussed it with a director. She has signed it off and is ready to start recording after the release of the first volume." he said.

Takano smiled. "But what if the manga does not sale enough to make this commercial or anime?" he asked.

Ritsu put his hands on the table. "Then we will have to try a diffrent approach, we would try advertising by dressing up as some of the characters and saleing them outside of stores." he said.

Takano crossed his arms. "But what if nobody bites?" he asked.

Ritsu was getting frustrated, there was now only five mintues to go. "Then we would have to try my fourth plan, interview Yoshizumi-san about the new release and give details and possible future plans." he said.

Takano smiled and nodded. "But what if the author decides to quit in the middle of the series?" he asked.

Ritsu stood up. "Then I will do everything in my power to influence Yoshizumi-san to continue." he said.

Takano nodded. "Alright, let's decide on the printing numbers." he said.

Ritsu sighed and sat back down and looked around the table. "My answer still is 200,000." he said.

Isaka glanced over the papers and was writing some notes down on the side of one of the papers. "Yokozawa, what do you think after hearing the proposal the second time?" he asked.

Yokozawa thought for a moment and crossed his arms and sighed. "200,000" he mumbled and closed his eyes.

Isaka smiled. "Mikao-san?" he asked the woman at the end.

She to crossed her arms. "If we don't make the sale mark, I am personally coming to see you Onodera...200,000." she said.

Takano smiled. "200,000" he said and sat back in his chair.

Isaka sighed. "After much discussion, the printing number is 200,000." he said and stood up and wrote it on the slip and signed his name as approval. He then handed it to Ritsu. "Now all there is left to do is hand it in to the printer." he said and smiled. "Good job." he said and smiled.

Ritsu sighed and smiled. "Thank you everyone." he said and bowed.

Takano smiled and cleared his throat as everyone walked out, leaving only him and Ritsu. He grinned and pointed to the clock.

Ritsu blinked and looked up at the clock and his stomach did a flip. He only had three minutes to get it into the printers before he lost.

He gasped and gathered his documents and made a run for the elevator. He was followed by Takano.

Takano breezed past him in no time and beat him to the elevator and waited until Ritsu got right on the door and closed it before he could enter.

Ritsu gasped. "That is cheating you asshole." he yelled as the doors closed.

He then looked to the staircase. He gripped his papers tightly and started running down the stairs as fast as he could without tripping. He huffed as he got down one flight and had one more to go.

He panted and finally made it to the last step and ran towards the printing department. He ran as fast as he could. He breathed heavily as he finally arrived and looked around for the printing supervisor.

Ritsu looked around and then he finally found him standing beside Takano and was talking to him.

He approached them quickly and ran over to him and sighed. "I have the printing number." he said.

Takano smiled and looked down at Ritsu.

"As I was saying, you should really come to the next meeting. Oh by the way, this is the new succesor to Onodera Publishing Company." he said and pointed to Ritsu.

The supervisor smiled and his eyes went soft. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Asahina." he said and smiled.

Ritsu nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you but I have come here on buis-" he began.

"Oh and he is a very skilled editor, he used to edit for Akihiko Usami." he said.

Asahina smiled. "Really now? That is quite interesting, it just so happens that my boss is a friend of his, you know him Isaka-san." he said.

Ritsu nodded. "Y-yes. I know him." he said. "Anyway, I'm really on a tigh-" he began again, but once again was cut off.

Takano nodded and looked at his watch secretly and then cleared his throat. "Well we have came up with the prining number for Yoshizumi's new release." he said and took the documents from Ritsu and handed them to Asahina. "This is it." he said.

Asahina looked through it and nodded. "Thank you, and thanks for the hard work." he said and bowed and walked off. "Oh, and Onodera-san, it was a pleasure meeting you." he said.

Ritsu sighed and relaxed. He had won. He turned and was about to walk away when he was stopped. Takano placed his hand on Ritsu shoulder with a big grin on his face.

"Where are you going?" Takano asked.

Ritsu looked at him. "I won, I am leaving." he said. "So please do what you promised and leave me alone." he said.

Takano then chuckled and leaned down to Ritsu's ear so only he could hear. "Now Onodera, don't you know how to tell time?" he asked.

Ritsu's face went into confusion. "What are you talking about, I had three minutes from the meeting room, I made it downstairs in two." he said.

Takano's face only lit up more with a smile. "Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention...the clock in the meeting room is five minutes late." he said. "So really...the bet ended 8 minutes ago." he whispered.

Ritsu stared in disbelief. He quickly got out his cellphone and sure enough, it was eight minutes past his deadline. He felt his insides twist up, but it wasn't in what he expected. Instead of feeling dispare, he felt relief.

He looked at Takano, his cheeks bright red. "Uh...I." he whispered.

Takano smiled and took Ritsu's wrist and pulled him to the bathroom and locked the door. He gently pushed Ritsu against the bathroom door. He looked into his eyes for a moment and then gently leaned down and kissed his lips lightly.

Ritsu shivered under the kiss and his eyes were wide in surprise. His heart was beating rapidly.

Takano chuckled. "Let's enjoy our life together...dear Ritsu." he whispered and hugged Ritsu tightly and buried his face in Ritsu's shoulder. "Finally...finally...you are mine again." he whispered.

Ritsu felt hot tears brimming up in his eyes. He felt them spill down his cheeks. He sighed and shook his head as he gently brought his arms around Takano.

"You got me..." he whispered ever so softly as he let himself fall into the strong and warm embrace of his ten year love. He relaxed into him, surrending everything to him. Not hiding anything from him.

"Ritsu...I love you." Takano whispered and pulled back and pressed his forehead to Ritsu's and looked him in the eyes.

Ritsu blushed and his face was at peace. He looked back into Takano's eyes. "I...I...I love you to." he whispered.

Takano smiled and let his eyes slip close. He bathed in those sweet words that Ritsu finally admitted. "I knew it all along." he whispered.

He smiled and kissed Ritsu gently, for the longest time. Never letting go of him again, together forever more...

Meanwhile outside the bathroom door an impatient Yokozawa was standing. "Who locked this damn door!" he called out and walked away.

**THE END**

**Well that was it everyone~! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT~! You guys have been amazing in reviewing and I hope you guys enjoyed the story, it has been a blast writing it~! PLEASE REVIEW THIS FINAL CHAPTER, it would meen so much to me! Thank you so much everyone, I hope you guys will continue to read my stories~! MWAHHH~ O3O (kiss to you all) **


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